Proposed test would gauge kindergarten readiness

Illinois-wide exam aims to measure children's social, academic skills

April 27, 2011

A panel of Illinois educators and early childhood experts on Wednesday offered a blueprint for a new kindergarten test that would measure the academic and social readiness of every 5-year-old who walks through the schoolhouse door.

The proposed exam could target everything from how many letters a child recognizes to how well they play with others or focus on a task at hand. Researchers and early childhood teachers say the measure would give parents and teachers alike a clear picture of a child's social, emotional, physical, developmental and cognitive abilities.

The recommendations made to the Illinois State Board of Education and the state's P-20 Council — devoted to studying education from preschool through college — came after more than a year of research by a group of kindergarten teachers, school administrators, early childhood experts and other advocates. The group studied kindergarten assessments used in other states.

The kindergarten measure was one of the public education reforms included in the state's bid for the federal Race to the Top competition last year. When Illinois lost, missing a shot at $400 million in federal funds, state officials and education advocates pledged to continue the kindergarten work.

State education officials diverted $1.5 million to fund a kindergarten readiness test in the proposed budget for next year.